In the sport of

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

, a nightwatchman is a lower-order

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...

who comes in to bat higher up the order than usual near the end of the day's play. The nightwatchman's job is to maintain most of the strike until the close of play (remaining in overnight after the end of the day's play, hence the name) and so protect other, more capable batsmen from being out cheaply in what may be a period of tiredness or in poor light at the end of the day, and then again the following morning when the batsmen have not yet ‘got their eye in', or when the early-morning conditions may favour the bowlers. The theory is that losing two top-order batsmen in quick succession would be worse than losing one top-order batsman and a tailender. However the nightwatchman's effort is not considered to be wasted, nor are they expected to play foolishly; otherwise they would not last very long. The role of nightwatchman is generally given to players who emphasise defensive technique over quick run-scoring. However, there have been occasions when nightwatchmen have made a big score, and six have made

centuries A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

es. Generally speaking, the nightwatchman plays conservatively on the night, but the next day may be allowed a freer role to score runs. The tactic has its drawbacks - if the nightwatchman gets out before the end of the day, the batting team may need to send out a more capable batsman to prevent the loss of further wickets, thereby costing the team a wicket while negating any benefit from using the nightwatchman; and even if the nightwatchman does survive until the end of the day, the beginning of the next day's play will see refreshed bowlers with better light facing a less capable batsman. As a result, not all captains use the tactic;

Steve Waugh Stephen Rodger Waugh (born 2 June 1965) is an Australian former international cricketer and twin brother of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a medium-pace bowler. As Australian captain from 1997 to 2004, he led Australi ...

, for example, abandoned the tactic during his captaincy of Australia. The nightwatchman is not to be confused with the

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

, a middle to lower order batsman who is promoted up the order in limited-overs games, or in first-class games where their team is looking for a quick

declaration Declaration may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Declaration'' (book), a self-published electronic pamphlet by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri * ''The Declaration'' (novel), a 2008 children's novel by Gemma Malley Music ...

, in the pursuit of quick runs without too much concern for their wicket.

Test centuries by nightwatchmen

There have been six

test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

by nightwatchmen (), as recognised by

ESPNcricinfo ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a ...

: There has been debate about whether

Nasim-ul-Ghani Nasim-ul-Ghani (born 14 May 1941) is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 29 Test matches and one One Day International between 1958 and 1973. At the time of his debut, aged 16 years, he was the world's youngest Test player.Boucher were genuine nightwatchmen – however, in the matches in question they both came in at No. 6, at the end of the day, ahead of more recognised batsmen, and

Cricinfo ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a d ...

considers them to have been nightwatchmen. Alex Tudor ( of England) was close to making a century as a nightwatchman; he made 99

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 1999 at

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family an ...

, and was stranded one run short of his maiden

century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

when

Graham Thorpe Graham Paul Thorpe, (born 1 August 1969) is a former English cricketer who played for England internationally and Surrey domestically. A left-handed middle-order batsman and slip fielder, he appeared in 100 Test matches. Early life Thorpe was ...

got the total to the point where a boundary was needed for the win with Tudor being on 95 runs, needing a six to reach his century. Tudor then hit the winning runs with a four, leaving him on 99*. Also close was

Harold Larwood Harold Larwood, MBE (14 November 1904 – 22 July 1995) was a professional cricketer for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and the England cricket team between 1924 and 1938. A right-arm fast bowler who combined unusual speed with grea ...

. In the final Test of the 1932–33 Ashes, Larwood made 98 as a nightwatchman, the highest innings made in the role up to that time.

References

{{reflist

External links

The Nightwatchman in Test Cricket: A Follow-up Analysis
– A review on the effectiveness of using nightwatchmen

– Statistical analysis aiming to debunk the concept of nightwatchman Batting (cricket) Cricket terminology